Perfluorinated alkyl acids in plasma of American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) from Florida and South Carolina

Jacqueline T Bangma; John A Bowden; Arnold M Brunell; Ian Christie; Brendan Finnell; Matthew P Guillette; Martin Jones; Russell H Lowers; Thomas R Rainwater; Jessica L Reiner; Philip M Wilkinson; Louis J Guillette Jr

doi:10.1002/etc.3600

Perfluorinated alkyl acids in plasma of American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) from Florida and South Carolina

Environ Toxicol Chem. 2017 Apr;36(4):917-925. doi: 10.1002/etc.3600. Epub 2016 Sep 26.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
² Hollings Marine Laboratory, Chemical Sciences Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
³ Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Eustis, Florida, USA.
⁴ Grice Marine Laboratory, College of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
⁵ Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, Illinois, USA.
⁶ Department of Mathematics, College of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
⁷ Integrated Mission Support Service, Kennedy Space Center, Titusville, Florida, USA.
⁸ Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science, Clemson University, Georgetown, South Carolina, USA.
⁹ Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center, Georgetown, South Carolina, USA.

Abstract

The present study aimed to quantitate 15 perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in 125 adult American alligators at 12 sites across the southeastern United States. Of those 15 PFAAs, 9 were detected in 65% to 100% of samples: perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorononanoic acid, perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA), perfluorododecanoic acid, perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTriA), perfluorotetradecanoic acid, perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). Males (across all sites) showed significantly higher concentrations of 4 PFAAs: PFOS (p = 0.01), PFDA (p = 0.0003), PFUnA (p = 0.021), and PFTriA (p = 0.021). Concentrations of PFOS, PFHxS, and PFDA in plasma were significantly different among the sites in each sex. Alligators at both Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (FL, USA) and Kiawah Nature Conservancy (SC, USA) exhibited some of the highest PFOS concentrations (medians of 99.5 ng/g and 55.8 ng/g, respectively) in plasma measured to date in a crocodilian species. A number of positive correlations between PFAAs and snout-vent length were observed in both sexes, suggesting that PFAA body burdens increase with increasing size. In addition, several significant correlations among PFAAs in alligator plasma may suggest conserved sources of PFAAs at each site throughout the greater study area. The present study is the first to report PFAAs in American alligators, to reveal potential PFAA hot spots in Florida and South Carolina, and to provide a contaminant of concern when assessing anthropogenic impacts on ecosystem health. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:917-925. Published 2016 Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of SETAC. This article is a US government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.

Keywords: Alligator; Crocodilian; Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS); Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS); Plasma.

Published 2016 Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of SETAC. This article is a US government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.

MeSH terms

Acids, Acyclic / blood*
Alligators and Crocodiles / blood*
Animals
Ecosystem*
Environmental Monitoring / methods*
Female
Florida
Fluorocarbons / blood*
Islands
Male
South Carolina

Substances

Acids, Acyclic
Fluorocarbons

Grants and funding

9999-NIST/Intramural NIST DOC/United States